


The Flowers That Guide Us

by SakuraLilly



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Afterglow Are A New Band, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Assumptions, Awkwardness, Backstory, Blushing, Characters are slightly older, Concealed feelings, Denial of Feelings, F/F, First Kiss, Flashbacks, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Opening Up, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Overworking, Realisation of feelings, Rehearsals, Self-Acceptance, Slight Anxiety, Slow Burn, Stargazing, Stars, hand holding, live performance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2020-06-22 10:55:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19666030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuraLilly/pseuds/SakuraLilly
Summary: On her way to book a practice session at the local studio, Hazawa Tsugumi bumps into a girl with long light blue hair. After she apologises and finds her way to the studio, she finds out that the girl she'd just bumped into is also a member of a band and they're playing the following weekend.However, at the studio, she also finds out that sometime during the day, she has walked past her soulmate. She now has to somehow find out who her soulmate is, and if she'll ever get to meet them again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write bandori fanfiction for a while now, but I never got the inspiration to write anything, or I lost interest quickly. So I'm glad I finally got something written up. I also have a ton of inspiration for this story and so much swimming around in my head for what will happen next. I hope you all will enjoy!
> 
> Also, thanks to coffee_o and Furinjuru for beta reading this for me! You were both life savers!

A chilled breeze filters through the air, the grey clouds above hiding the sun away, darkening the street below. A girl with shoulder-length brown hair clutches her arms to her body, her light blue cardigan doing what it can to keep her warm. A white collar can be seen poking out around her neck, while a yellow skirt flutters around her legs.

 _I wish I’d known it was going to be this cold when I left._ Her hazel eyes dart from side to side as she walks. _Still, I need to do this, the rest of the band are relying on me._

The pavement bends to the left, revealing a small sign hanging over the concrete path. It’s shaped like a guitar, with the faded lettering that only reads ‘M od P b c ou e’ now.

As the girl sees this, she lets out a small sigh of relief. _Okay, now let’s hope they still have a time slot available._ She reaches the black door that marks the entrance to the studio. Her hand reaches out to open it.

Before her hand can touch the metal of the handle, the door swings open and something steps out, accidentally bumping into her as it does.

“S-Sorry.” The brown-haired girl manages to get the words past her lips as she feels herself stepping back slightly. She blinks a few times to compose herself before she looks at whatever walked into her. The other person is a girl who looks a similar age to her, albeit slightly taller. Her hair is a pale blue and falls behind her back, matching the colour of her shirt. She’s also wearing a pair of tight-fitting dark blue jeans. The thing that catches the shorter haired girl’s attention most is the girl’s green eyes, something about their blank expression, seemingly unphased by the events up till now, carries an air of mystery.

“No, I should be the one to apologise.” The light blue-haired girl says. “I should’ve looked before I walked out.”

“N-No, it was my fault, really.” The brown-haired girl takes another step back. “Here, I’ll get out of your way.”

“Thank you.” The blue haired girl says as she nods her head.

As the other girl starts to walk down the street, the shorter-haired girl stares after her. _Why am I getting the feeling that I know her from somewhere?_

After a few moments, the girl shakes her head and looks back to the building that she is about to enter. _Okay… all I have to do is book this session._ She goes over to the entrance once more and pushes open the door.

Inside is a short hallway with a door to the left, a little further on is a staircase that leads up towards another door, a rope hanging across in front of it. The walls are littered with posters, layered on top of each other, each advertising an event, most of which are dated years in the past. The girl waits for the door to close before she walks up to the door on her left and knocks.

“Come in.” A warm voice calls from inside the room.

The brown-haired girl pushes open the door to the room. It is a cluttered room, with filing cabinets lining one of the walls, a few chairs scattered about the floor and a small oak desk sits in the centre of the room. An elderly lady is seated behind it, a smile on her face. “Hello there dear, may I help you?”

“Y-Yes.” The girl manages to get out before pausing to take a deep breath. “My name is Hazawa Tsugumi, and I’m a member of the band Afterglow. Is there a time available for us to practice this weekend?”

“This weekend…” The lady starts flicking through the pages of a diary that is lying in front of her on the desk. “We have a few slots free. On Saturday… three till four is the only one available. On Sunday… any time between ten and two.” She looks up from her book and back at Tsugumi. “We’d usually have more available on Saturday, but we have a live show that evening and the band needs time to rehearse.”

“Um…” _What time did everyone say they wanted?_ “Can I book all the slots on Sunday?”

“Of course, dear.” The lady begins writing something down in the diary that she has in front of her. “Are you paying upfront, or when you arrive?”

“When we arrive, if that’s not a problem.”

“It’s no problem at all… I’ll see you on Sunday then.” The woman’s lips curl into a smile akin to someone watching a child riding a bike for the first time. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“N-No, that’s all.” Tsugumi bows her head and starts turning to leave.

As her hand reaches out to open the door, a voice calls back out to her from behind the desk. “Is your partner a member of your group?”

“P-Partner?” Tsugumi freezes, before turning back to face the lady. “What do you mean?”

“On your wrist.” The studio owner nods her head towards Tsugumi’s right wrist. “I can see your petals.”

“H-Huh?” The brown-haired girl feels her cheeks begin to buzz as she lifts her arm up to the light. Sure enough, peeking from underneath her cardigan sleeves, the tips of several long and thin yellow petals can be seen on the skin of her wrist. She immediately pulls the clothing around her arm back a little, revealing more of the tattoo. The yellow petals all spring out from a large brown circle in the centre of them, baring the unmistakable resemblance of a sunflower. More tips of yellow can be seen further down her arm, all attached to the single vine that she’d grown accustomed to over all these years. _What? When did this happen? I didn’t have them last night… I would’ve noticed it if I did… that means… that it must’ve happened today? But I’ve been out all morning._ Images of the hundreds of people she’d passed in the street flash through her mind, their faces blurred. _It could be anyone._ The world around her starts to spin, the figures congealing into one mystery silhouette, a shadowy being. The figure turns to face her, and a laugh can be heard echoing inside her head. _Who are you?_

When Tsugumi finally regains her vision, she’s staring at the wall outside of the studio office. Her heart feels like it’s about to burst from her chest. _This must be a dream, right?_ She looks once more at the floral tattoo on her arm. _I never expected this day to come._

She glances up and finds her eyes looking at a poster that looks newer than the rest. It still has the shine on the ink, the edges have no tears on them, and the colours haven’t even begun to fade. Text at the top of the page reads ‘Come See Roselia Live!’ with ‘This Saturday at 18:00!’ in slightly smaller text underneath. In the centre of the poster is a picture of the band, all dressed in beautiful dresses of different shades of blue. She doesn’t read any further than that however, instead, her eyes find themselves fixed on the person to the far right of the picture. _It’s the girl from before. She must be in a band as well._ Tsugumi found herself staring at the picture of this girl, the roses in her purple hairband, the way her hair seems to blend with the colours of her dress, the slight smile she has as she holds her guitar. Before she could stop herself, she found herself turning back around and going back through the door into the studio owner’s office. 

* * *

The room is packed with people. Tsugumi had arrived at the studio as early as she could, allowing her to gain a place right at the front of the crowd of people that had formed behind her. In her hands is a small leaflet that she’d been handed as she entered. It has a list of songs on it that she’d only briefly had a chance to glance at before getting distracted by the shuffling of some staff setting the instruments up on the stage in front of her.

The stage itself is a small raised platform, about two metres in front of her, large speakers lie on stands either side and multiple spotlights hang from the ceiling above, each pointing down at the stage. The instruments themselves were set out in a left to right pattern of bass, drums, microphone, keyboard and guitar, with the drums and the keyboard slightly further back. _That’s how we set things up, although Ran usually has her guitar there as well._ Each instrument is decorated with the band’s logo, the words Roselia in purple text, with a curved vine connecting the I to the R and a rose in the gap.

Suddenly, the lights cut out and movement can be heard on the stage. A chorus of cheers erupts all around Tsugumi as two spotlights flick on and move so that the light is focused on the silver-haired vocalist of the band.

The girl’s eyes are shut, one of her hands holding the microphone. After a few seconds, the girl’s eyes open instantaneously. “Oneness.”

A short pause follows, as more of the spotlights flick on, revealing the other four members of the band in different coloured hues. The music starts to slowly build up as multiple members of the band start to sing the first few lines of the song before the main vocalist takes over and the music shifts to a faster pace. It’s then that Tsugumi sees her, the girl from before. Her expression is focussed on her playing along with the occasional backing vocal from the blue-haired guitarist. Everything about her makes Tsugumi want to keep staring at her as if the girl was a siren and the music echoing around the room was her song.

As the vocals finish, and the music reaches its climax, cheering erupts throughout the crowd. The spotlights on the band dim until the room is plunged into darkness once again. _Wow, this band is something else._

“Shirokane Rinko.” A voice echoes out, silencing the audience. As the words reverberate around the room, a grey light illuminates the keyboardist. She’s standing up, her hands hovering over her keyboard and a determined expression on her face.

“Udagawa Ako.” A purple light reveals the band’s drummer. She looks younger than the keyboardist, being shorter and with her lips curled into a childlike grin. Her hand hovers in front of her face, fingers splayed out in a strange way.

“Imai Lisa.” A third spotlight, this one a reddish orange, shows the bassist, her long brown hair falling behind her head, a cheeky smile on her face and one of her feet is on a raised section of the stage in front of her.

“Hikawa Sayo.” Time seems to slow down as the fourth light shines a blue light onto the guitarist. This is the girl that she’d accidentally bumped into, the girl she’s been unable to take her eyes off the entire performance, the girl who seems to make her heart race. _Sayo… her name is Sayo._

Before she has time to admire the girl, the four lights flick off once more and a single deep purple light turns on. “Minato Yukina.” She’s in the same pose that she’d taken at the beginning of the performance. “We are… Roselia!”

The music immediately starts to flare up once again and the four other members are illuminated once more. Cheering courses through the crowd as the song starts off in a slow and quiet pace. The vocals interchanging between Yukina and the other members of the song before the slow-paced music stops abruptly and the guitar and bass are timed with the vocalist’s singing as she repeats the same line twice before the music flares to life.

Tsugumi feels swept off her feet by the music in front of her, constantly being drawn towards the band and, more specifically, Sayo. She can’t help but watch her play, her hand strumming on the strings of her guitar, her arm with the beautiful rose pattern down it. She freezes. _A rose pattern. Down her arm._ She looks closer, focusing her eyes on the beautiful blues and purples of the flowers. This wasn’t a pattern.

All the music around her seems to be slowly fade to nothing more than muffled sounds in her ears. This girl, who she’s been unable to take her eyes off the entire performance, there was no mistaking it. _She has a soulmate._ Tsugumi feels like her heart is about to stop. _Why does it feel like I’ve been shot in the chest? I only briefly bumped into this girl. I probably will never see her again. So, why? Why do I feel heartbroken? Why do I feel betrayed? Why do I feel…_ Her mind is swimming with thoughts, each of them buzzing around in there all vying for attention. Then, a single thought pierces through the many like a speck of light in the darkness. _What if I… like her?_

The people around her seem to disappear into thin air. All that is left are Tsugumi and the guitarist on the stage. She closes her eyes and shakes her head. _It can’t be. There’s no way._ She reopens her eyes and watches Sayo playing her guitar. She feels her heart starting to beat faster and faster. _What am I going to do?_

Before she can find an answer, someone bumps into her. “Sorry.” A fumbled reply follows as a guy glances down at her.

“I-It’s okay.” Tsugumi manages to get out as she looks back towards the stage. To her disappointment, the lights are starting to dim once more, and she only gets a brief glimpse at the blue-haired guitarist. _No… I was being stupid. There’s no way I like someone I only recently met. She’s already met her soulmate, there’s no point worrying over it now._

A slow melody starts to play, contrasting the two previous songs. The piano is the main sound that can be heard before Yukina’s voice comes in, matching the sounds of the instruments around her. The sudden shift in the song catches Tsugumi off guard and she lets herself become absorbed into the music, tears starting to fall down her face shortly after.

The third song finally draws to a close, the band letting the last notes hang in the air. Applause breaks out all around Tsugumi and, for the first time this performance, she finds herself joining in with them. She closes her eyes and an image of Sayo appears in her head. _I hope you find the person you’re meant to be with._ She wipes her eyes dry with her arm. When her eyes reopen, she can see the sunflowers adorning her wrist. _That’s right, I need to start trying to find my own soulmate. I can’t focus on this random person I’ll probably never see again._

The strumming of guitar strings suddenly fills the room and Tsugumi finds herself immediately looking back at the stage. Yukina’s voice picks up shortly after and once more she finds herself captivated by the performance in front of her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long to release, I've been dealing with so much currently that I just ended up never getting round to typing this chapter up onto my computer and doing the editing for it. I also ended up getting into the t10 for the Growing Up Sisters event, which took a lot out of me but also caused a lot of problems as well. Eventually, I ended up getting this typed up tho and it's finally ready to upload, I'll try and get the next chapters uploaded sooner from here on out.
> 
> Thanks for reading and also thank you to my two lovely beta readers once again!

Returning to the studio feels a little strange for Tsugumi as she stands in front of the entrance, the same doorway that she’d first bumped into Sayo, and where she’d walked through to hear the concert the previous evening. _I wonder what she’s doing currently, after a show like that, I’d imagine she must be resting._

As she thinks this, the doors in front of her open. Standing there, with a guitar case over her shoulder, is the familiar blue-haired figure of Sayo.

It feels like the flow of time slows to a crawl as Tsugumi stands there, staring at the guitarist in front of her. The blue-haired girl is dressed in a similar outfit to the previous time they’d bumped into each other, with the same dark blue jeans on, but with a pale green shirt, its colour matching the girl’s eyes.

“Hi…” The words stumble past Tsugumi’s lips. _Does she even remember me?_ Her cheeks start to burn up as her eyes look down towards the floor. There’s no way she would, right?

“Hello.” There’s a slight puzzlement to Sayo’s face, which quickly shifts to one that resembles surprise. 

Tsugumi opens her mouth to say something, but no words come out. A tornado of thoughts tears through her mind, none ever lingering long enough to get through to her before it’s swept away in the gusts of winds of her head.

“I… I wasn’t expecting you to be here today.” The words stumble past Tsugumi’s lips as her heart races in her chest. “Your live show last night was so good that I thought you’d need a break.” As soon as the second part leaves her lips, the brown-haired girl regrets saying them. _She probably thinks I’m some fan after that._

“Oh, were you at the performance?” A look of slight surprise appears on Sayo’s face.

“Y-Yes.” Tsugumi’s cheeks feel like they’re about to burst into flames. “I saw your poster… and thought I’d see what it was like.”

“Thank you for attending.” Sayo’s expression has already lost the surprise that it had previously. “We’re still a new band, so it’s nice to meet someone who enjoyed our performance.”

_They’re still a new band?_ Yet again, this guitarist has been able to render Tsugumi speechless. _They’re already that good after only recently starting?_ “I would never have guessed that, you all seemed like professionals. I hope we can be as good as that someday.”

“You’re in a band?” The familiar flash of surprise came across Sayo’s face as she says this. 

“Yeah.” Tsugumi’s heart feels like it’s about to burst from her chest. “I am on my way to start a practice session with them soon.”

“We recently finished ours-” Sayo’s voice is cut off by a commotion behind her.

“Sayo?” From behind the guitarist, a girl with long brown hair appears. “I thought you were goi-” Her voice cuts off as she notices Tsugumi standing there. “Oh, who’s this?”

It takes Tsugumi a few seconds for Tsugumi to recognise the girl. She looks completely different when not in her performance outfit, but the new arrival is Roselia’s bassist, Imai Lisa. “I… I’m sorry. My name is Hazawa Tsugumi and I accidentally ran into Hikawa-san here and held her up a little.” 

“It’s okay Hazawa-san, I’m sure you didn’t mean any harm.” Lisa’s face is lit up by a warm smile as she says this. Tsugumi feels herself relax as a little as the friendly tone to the bassist’s voice eases her nerves a little. “Shall we walk together then Sayo?”

“Okay.” There is a slight delay to Sayo’s response as if she’s considering saying something else.

As the two of them start to walk off, Tsugumi feels her eyes watching them. Lisa laughs at something as they walk, and that same smile brightens her face. A slight pang of jealousy causes her to look away from the brown-haired girl, but, as she does, her eyes catch something else; down the side of Lisa’s arm is a singular vine, with roses that are a beautiful blend of orange and red sprouting from it.

A sickening feeling courses through the keyboardist. In her mind an image of Sayo, standing arm in arm with a faceless figure appears, before a puzzle piece materialises and slots perfectly into place, revealing the mystery figure to be Lisa. She stares after the two of them, both with rose pattern tattoos on their arms, both enjoying each other’s company, both walking home together. _Lisa is her soulmate._

Like last night, when she’d first seen Sayo’s arm, it feels like an explosion was going off inside her chest. _Why?_ Her eyes slowly close. _Why am I being affected by this so much? I don’t even like her that way._ Despite her words, her eyes still begin to tear up. _No… I can’t cry over something so stupid._ She reaches up to wipe her eyes with her wrist, breathing in as she does. _I’m stronger than this._ She slowly shakes the image of the two Roselia members from her mind. _I need to move on from thinking about this, I can’t let it get in the way of the other Afterglow members._ She releases the breath that she’s been holding and reopens her eyes. _Okay, I can do this._ She walks up to the entrance to the studio and pushes the door open, the tingling sensation in her arm going completely unnoticed.

* * *

The echoes of their playing slowly faded around the studio; all five members of Afterglow are panting for breath as they let the high of being absorbed in their music slowly die down. 

Tsugumi finds her eyes looking over to where Moca is standing, or more specifically, where Sayo was standing the previous night. Memories of the performance flood into her mind. _They were amazing, their style is so… powerful._ _I couldn’t look away._ She looks over the other members of her group. _I wonder if we’ll ever be able to have a performance like that._

“That was a good performance everyone,” Tomoe says from behind her drum kit. “We should get that song down any day now.”

“Yeah, I can already feel us improving.” Himari looks up from her bass and glances at the other members of the group. “We’ll have it in no time!”

“Tsugumi, you were a little off at the start.” Ran turns around to face her. “I hope things are okay.”

“Oh, sorry.” Tsugumi bows her head towards the vocalist. _I got distracted with thoughts of that performance last night._ “I’m fine, my mind wandered a little. I will make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Aww, don’t worry Tsugu.” Himari’s cheerful tone chirps in. “I thought you were perfect!”

“Didn’t you miss a note at the beginning there, Hii-chan?” Moca smirks as she looks over at the pink-haired bassist.

“Ah…” Himari’s face falls slightly.

“Come on Moca, you don’t have to tease her.” Tomoe places her drumsticks down in front of her. “Anyway, we should have a short break, I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.”

“Okaaay.” Moca slips her guitar strap over her head and leaves the instrument leaning up against the speaker next to her.

As the band starts to set their instruments down, Tsugumi catches Tomoe out of the corner of her eye and a thought flashes in her mind. _That drummer from Roselia, wasn’t her name Udagawa Ako?_ She feels her body tense up. _That’s her sister._ Before she can stop herself, she feels her lips open. “Tomoe-chan, is your sister in a band as well?”

“Huh?” The drummer’s eyes widen. “Yes, she is.” Her brows furrow slightly as she looks at Tsugumi. “When she heard we were forming Afterglow, she wanted to try drumming in a band as well. She managed to find a group to join herself, they call themselves Roselia.”

“Ah, okay.” Something inside Tsugumi jumps as she hears this. _I know someone close to Sayo._

“Why do you ask?” Tomoe’s face remains in a curious expression.

“Oh, um…” Tsugumi feels blood flooding to her cheeks as she tries to wrack her brain for an excuse. _Why do I feel so happy about realising this?_ “I was… curious.”

“Tsugu’s hiding something.” The usual smug grin has returned to Moca’s face, her eyes lazily watching the keyboardist.

“N-No… I… there was a poster.” _Why am I so hesitant to tell them?_

“Oh, that must’ve been for their live.” Tomoe’s cheerful tone is able to calm Tsugumi’s nerves down a little. “They had a performance here last night.”

“They had a live so soon?” Himari chirps in as Tomoe finishes talking. 

“They’ve had a few already, their vocalist strives for them to improve so much that they’ve pushed themselves quite hard, especially as we’re on break.” Tomoe looks down at her drum kit before letting her lips curl into a smile as she looks back towards the pink-haired girl. “I think that was their fourth so far. It’s amazing to watch them, you should come with me next time they play.”

“We should!” Himari’s face lights up. “I can’t wait to see Ako-chan perform.”

Tsugumi can’t help but feel happy as she watches the two of them. _They are a perfect fit for each other._ _I hope my soulmate and I can get on like that._ She bends down to pick up a half-full bottle of water that is under her keyboard. As she does, the sleeve of her shirt slips a little, allowing her to see the yellow petals on her arm.

“Tsugu…” Moca’s rhythmical voice startles the brown-haired girl, causing her to stand up straight and almost drop the bottle. “I see you finally got to see how wonderful I am.”

Tsugumi looks at the grey-haired guitarist with a look of confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Your arm.” 

Tsugu’s hand immediately moves to pull her sleeve down her arm. “I… um…” _Did anyone else see?_ Her eyes flick towards the other members of the band, all four of whom are looking at her.

“Ho ho ho… there’s no point hiding from Moca-chan.” The grey-haired guitarist grins at her. “I see everything.”

“Did you meet someone Tsugu?” Himari says as her eyes flick between Moca and Tsugumi.

“I…” The brown-haired girl starts before cutting herself off. _No, I should be honest with them._ “I think so.” Her hand lifts the sleeve of her shirt back up her arm, revealing the yellow petals of the sunflowers that are tattooed there. “These appeared the other day.”

“Tsugu, you should have told us!” The pink-haired bassist runs over to her and takes the arm in her hands, admiring it like it is a precious gem. “Aww, they’re so beautiful.” She looks up to meet Tsugumi’s gaze. “Sunflowers suit you.”

“Do you know who it is?” Tomoe appears behind Himari. 

“No.” Tsugumi shakes her head as she says this. “It happened the day I booked the session. I passed so many people on the street, it could be anyone.”

“Shouldn’t it onl-”

“Aww, that’s unfortunate.” Himari’s voice cuts the taller red-haired girl off. “I guess you have the same situation Ran does then.”

“Yeah…” Tsugu’s eyes glance over at their vocalist and looks at the purple orchids that run down her arm. “Hopefully we can both find our soulmates soon.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be here to help you as best as we can.” A smile lights up Himari’s face, wiping away the slight concern that had lingered there before.

“Thank you,” Tsugumi responds as her gaze shifts to Tomoe and Himari’s arms, and to the area where they’d both had flowers back when they’d first met. _I was so happy for those two when they got together, but I never thought it would happen to... me._

“I’m sure Tsugu won’t be as oblivious as you two were.” Moca steps up closer as she says this. 

_That’s right, they denied it for so long that it took Moca to dare them to kiss for them to realise._ Tsugu can’t help but smile at the memory as she watches her friends. _Did Moca ever reveal who her soulmate was?_

Before Tsugu can open her mouth to ask, Ran’s voice cuts in. “We should get back to practice, we don’t want to let our time here run out.”

The next hour and a half pass by quickly. The members of Afterglow continue practising their songs, with only one other short break in between. As they set down their instruments after their final song, the five of them all are breathing heavily with beads of sweat on their foreheads. Tsugumi finds herself taking a deep breath in, closing her eyes and thinking back over their session. _I love the feeling of playing with my friends._

“That was exhausting,” Himari says as she stretches her hands up towards the ceiling. “We had that perfect by the end.”

“I don’t know if I think perfect is the right word yet,” Tomoe responds as she looks towards Himari briefly before looking towards the black-haired vocalist of the group. “What do you think, Ran?”

“It was… the same as always.” Ran turns around to face the four other members. 

“We got the catchphrase.” Himari’s face brightens as she relaxes her arms. “We should do more practice sessions soon.”

“Hey, Tsugu, can I talk to you for a second?” Tomoe stands up as she looks towards the brown-haired keyboardist, the look in her eyes compels Tsugumi to nod.

The two of them head off to the side, slightly out of earshot from the others. “Are you okay? I know how weird it can be when you finally meet somebody, and the flowers first appear.”

“I’m okay, thank you, Tomoe-chan.” As she says this, Tsugumi feels a chill come over her body as the mysterious faceless figure slowly appears in her mind once more. “It was quite a shock though, I never expected it to happen to me.”

“I got lucky that Himari turned out to be my soulmate.” Tomoe looks over at the pink-haired girl as she’s helping the other two members pack away the instruments. “But, even with us, it was a chaotic experience.”

“I remember.” Tsugumi tries to force a smile onto her face as she tries to look past the mystery figure in her mind towards her memories of the events that led up to her two friends getting together. “I… I am going to try and ignore it as best as I can though. There’s no way for me to know who it could have been, so I don’t know how to find them.”

“If you’re sure that’s what you want to do, then I hope you’ll be okay.” Tomoe’s eyes are full of worry. “I know the mental problems not knowing can cause first-hand, and considering college is starting soon, as well as Afterglow, you have a lot going on currently. We’re here for you if you need us.”

“Thank you, Tomoe-chan, I’ll keep that in mind.” Tsugumi bows her head towards the red-haired girl, but, as she does so, a peal of horrific laughter fills her head. She feels the faceless figure drawing closer and closer. _Who are you? How can I find you?_ _Where are you?_ A million questions seem to float around her mind, each wanting to push through the plain face of this figure. _Give me some clue as to who you are, please!_ As she thinks this, the figure stops moving towards her, spins around and starts to move away. _Wait!_ Tsugumi feels herself starting to chase after it. _Stop! I need to know who you are!_ Despite what she’d said to Tomoe, despite trying to ignore her soulmate, despite trying to move on, she couldn’t give up, she couldn’t let this person escape, she had to know who they were.

“Tsugu!” A voice shatters the image in her mind, and she’s brought back to the real world. She is still in the same place in their practice room. Tomoe is still standing next to her, the rest of the band looking at her with concern in their eyes. “Are you okay?”

“H-Huh?” Tsugumi looks around the room, refamiliarising herself with her surroundings. _Right… that’s all fake… I need to stop getting distracted by something so stupid. I’ll only worry the othe-_ Her thought is cut off as she sees the look of worry on the red-haired drummer’s face. _Oh no… they must have all seen that._ “I…” She tries to think of something to say, some way to distract them, but to no avail. Her body is heating up, it feels like the temperature of the room itself was turned up by a whole ten degrees. “I think I need some fresh air…”

Before any of the other Afterglow members can say anything, she runs from the room, out of the studio, onto the street outside and then continues running, not knowing where or when she will stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY TSUGU!!!!!! I REALLY DO LOVE YOU AND IT PAINS ME TO DO THIS TO YOU!!!!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsugumi needs some space to think things over. As the sun sets beyond the trees in the park, she bumps into a familiar face. The one she wants to see most, and the one she's been fearing to see all this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long to come out... I decided to take a small hiatus from writing it to collect my thoughts and I'm so glad I did. I know much more clearly how I want the story to progress now. 
> 
> This scene was meant to be about double the length, however, I decided to break it into two so that it would be more manageable and I also wanted to try something new, which you'll hopefully see soon.
> 
> I'll try and get the next chapter out as soon as I can, especially because I'm so invested in this story at the moment. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the third chapter, and thank you to everyone who helped beta read this for me, you're all life savers!!!

A single thought rolls around in Tsugumi’s mind.  _ Why am I so stupid? _ The trees around her rustle as the breeze flows through their leaves. Above them, the evening sun is slowly beginning its descent, a mirage of pink and orange decorating the horizon.

Tsugumi herself is seated on an aged wooden bench overlooking the small grassy park in front of her.  _ I can’t seem to shake this thought from my mind. Please just tell me who it is, or leave me alone. _ Her thoughts come to an abrupt stop for a second as the wind chill hits her back.

She tries to focus back on the faceless figure that keeps appearing in her mind, but instead, an image of Sayo performing during the concert appears.  _ Why am I thinking of her now? She has someone else as a soulmate. _

In the distance, a couple of children can be seen playing with a small brown and white Jack Russel, each of them taking turns to throw a ball as the dog barks at them. Whenever either of them tosses it, he runs after it, deciding to yap at the object instead of bringing it back.

She closes her eyes and lets her other senses take over. The gentle breeze still brushing past her, causing her arm to tingle slightly. The crunching of gravel underfoot gets louder as someone passes in front of her on the path. Birds chirp from their treetop perches or the skies above. The slight scent of rain hovers around the area, leftover from the drizzle that had fallen earlier.  _ I think I need to just have a little time to relax, but when will I get that chance? With the cafe taking up my days and rehearsals taking up my weekends, my time is packed at the moment.  _

The small yapping of a dog can be heard to her right, followed by a stern feminine voice. “Lino, here.”

“Is it okay if I say hello?” Another voice, this one slightly familiar, follows. Something about this voice causes Tsugumi to reopen her eyes and look towards the two figures.

A woman with shoulder-length black hair, a blue and white striped shirt, and dark blue jeans can be seen holding a lead with a small brown labrador puppy. Next to the two of them, however, with her hand stroking the small dog… is Sayo.

The blue-haired guitarist is wearing a white button-up shirt and what Tsugumi assumes to be her usual dark blue jeans. She has a soft expression on her face, her gaze entirely focussed on the small dog that is currently laying on its back, allowing its belly to be scratched.

Tsugumi can’t help but smile as she watches the blue-haired girl pet the puppy.  _ She looks so happy; she must have a soft spot for dogs.  _ The chill of the air around her seems to fade as she watches the other girl; it’s as if the very presence of Sayo is enough to warm her whole body.

A few more seconds pass before the guitarist stands up and bows her head towards the lady. “Thank you. She’s very cute.”

“You’re very welcome, dear.” The woman looks down at her dog as it starts to shake the dirt from its hair. “I’m sure Lino loved it, she’s always enjoyed attention.”

The two bid each other farewell and the lady takes her dog and starts to walk down the path. Sayo stares after the four-legged fluffball with a distant look in her eyes. 

A few seconds later, Sayo makes a slight expression of surprise as her eyes flick over to meet Tsugumi’s. The simple flash of eye contact is enough to make the keyboardist’s cheeks start to buzz slightly.  _ She saw me, what do I do now? Do I say something, look away? Does she know I’ve been watching her this whole time? _

“Hazawa-san, what are you doing here?” Sayo looks at her with an expression that could only be described as a mix of curiosity and surprise.

“Oh, um…” Tsugumi’s mind flashes back to what happened earlier, how she’d run out on her friends, the phone that she’d switched off so she didn’t have to deal with concerned texts, how she’d made the people closest to her worry. “I…”  _ I can’t tell her the truth… but… I don’t want to lie to her. _ She quickly flicks her eyes around her surroundings. “It seemed like this would be a good spot to watch the sunset from.” 

“Do you like watching the sunset?” Sayo looks over her shoulder towards the hues that can be seen on the horizon.

“Yeah… I often do.” Her gaze follows Sayo’s, watching the way the different colours of the evening light all blend together with the blues and whites of the daytime sky. A light glaze of water forms over her eyes, blurring the view and somehow making it a different kind of beautiful. 

“Are you okay?”

“H-Huh?” Tsugumi looks to where Sayo was standing before to find it empty.  _ Huh, where did she go? _ After a few seconds, she realises that the guitarist is sitting next to her on the bench. “Oh…” She reaches her arm up and uses her wrist to wipe the water from her eyes. “Um… the sunset just… reminds me of how my band got together.”

“It does?” Sayo shuffles slightly on the bench, turning slightly towards Tsugumi, making the shorter girl subconsciously feel a little more comfortable and copy the guitarist’s actions. 

“Yeah, it all happened on a day very similar to today.” Their gazes meet and Tsugumi feels her insecurities start to fall away.  _ Something about Sayo is just… comforting. I feel like I could tell her anything and she’d listen, she’d understand it, she’d... support me.  _ With the feeling of comfort now spreading through her body, Tsugumi opens her mouth once more. “Earlier in the day, Ran-chan, our vocalist, and Tomoe-chan, our drummer, had a horrible argument. The whole situation just left us all with a horrible atmosphere and it just left me feeling so… helpless. There had been situations like this before, but never this bad, and it also came at a really bad timing. Tomoe-chan and Himari-chan are soulmates, meaning that Himari-chan was forced to side with her girlfriend, even though she didn’t want to take a side. Moca-chan ended up being forced to take Ran’s side, due to them being childhood friends, meaning that I was just left in the middle of it all, with nothing I could do.” 

As she says this, her eyes begin to water again. She can’t bear to look into Sayo’s eyes any longer, as tears start to trickle down her cheeks, creating small streams for others to follow. She closes her eyes to try and prevent any more from following, but it only helps them to flow. “I ended up spending my entire day dealing the two sides trying to convince me to side with them, hearing Ran-chan saying one thing one moment, and then Tomoe-chan saying another the next.” 

“You don’t have to tell me all this if you don’t want to.” Sayo’s voice pierces through the memories swirling around in Tsugumi’s mind. The brown-haired girl looks back at the other girl to see a worried look covering her face. “You’ve clearly been through a lot.”

“N-No… it’s okay.” Tsugumi wipes her eyes once more. “I… I think I need to get this off my chest.”  _ And for some reason, talking to you is so much easier than anyone else I’ve met. _ She takes a deep breath and feels the tears start to calm down. “Thank you though… for listening.”

“I’m…” Sayo starts, but her words seem to catch in her throat. “...glad I can be here.”

“So… when I finally got some time alone, I ended up just collapsing in on myself. The stress of the whole day had just built up, and I’d tried to suppress it so much that, when I didn’t have to hide it anymore, the whole thing just bubbled over and I was left a crying mess on the ground.” Tsugumi starts to look back over the events of the past few days, ever since the petals appeared on her arm. How she’s having a similar breakdown now as she did back on that day, how she’s been holding back her need to find her soulmate, how she’s been so obsessed with denying that someone actually exists.  _ Starting now… I’m not going to run from it anymore. I need to try and find out who it is. _

“I kept myself locked in that room until I was done with all my crying, I didn’t want to burden anyone with it, to make them worry about me. When I left, I tried to find everyone, determined to find some way to end this conflict, to allow us to go back to being the close friends that we’ve always been.” Tsugumi looks towards the sunset as she says this, feeling the slight chill of the wind as it flows past the two of them. “I found them all on the roof. Ran-chan and Tomoe-chan almost looked ready to throw each other off of there, and the other two were helpless to stop them at this point.”

After a short silence, Sayo breaks it. “What happened?”

“I… don’t really know exactly.” An image of the scene flashes in Tsugumi’s mind. “When I appeared, I distracted them for a moment and I got the opportunity to say the first words that came to my head.” The brown-haired girl pauses, trying to remember what she said. “I think I said, ‘please stop.’”

“Something about the way I said it at the time must’ve got to them because no one spoke at all for ages. We all just looked off towards the horizon, at the setting sun, and we stayed that way in silence.” She looks back towards Sayo to find the beautiful green eyes of the girl gazing at her, clearly invested in the story, in what she was saying. “Tomoe-chan was the first to break it. She turned to Ran-chan and apologised, saying that the whole thing was pointless and that they shouldn’t have been arguing about it in the first place, then she turned to me and said the same thing. Ran-chan did the same and that was the end of that.” Tsugumi hasn’t realised that she’s been gradually smiling more and more with every word that leaves her lips, but she suddenly does when she sees Sayo do the same. 

“The whole argument was about something really trivial, but sometimes the smallest misunderstandings can lead to the worst of situations.” As the two of them sit together, both as invested in the story as they are in each other, Tsugumi can feel her cheeks blushing. 

“Out of nowhere, I decided to suggest that we form a band together… Unfortunately, we weren’t going to see each other as often if things had stayed the same thanks to Ran’s family wanting to move to a house further away. So I thought it would be a good way for us to remain friends and also not have things like this ever happen again. We couldn’t think of a good name at first, but when we looked back… we remembered how beautiful the sunset was. To make sure we always remember what happened that day, we went with the name Afterglow.”

A silence falls over the pair. Tsugumi feels a relief taking over her body as she finally gets to tell someone the story that’s been holding such a weight over her chest for so long.  _ I’m so glad I came here tonight, I… She makes me feel calm, warm, and safe. _ Her mind switches to focussing more on Sayo, how the girl’s light-blue hair is gently blowing in the breeze, how her eyes sparkle as they catch the light, how the hues of orange cause it to look like she has a halo.  _ She’s more beautiful than an angel. _

“I can see how much this group means to you.” As Sayo talks, Tsugumi finds herself watching the girl’s lips move, how they seem so smooth, how the light pink lip balm seems to sparkle slightly, how she really wants to kiss them. “I’m glad you have good people around you.” 

The second sentence breaks the brown-haired girl’s trance.  _ Huh… what was I thinking just now? _ Her eyes flick down towards Sayo’s lips briefly before darting away again.  _ No… I shouldn’t be thinking about things like that.  _

“Thank you.” Tsugumi looks up towards the sky as she says this, hoping to distract her thoughts.  _ What is this feeling, what is making my heart race so fast? _

“We didn’t have the easiest start either,” Sayo starts, pausing after to gauge Tsugumi’s reaction as if determining whether or not to continue. “It was all Minato-san, our vocalist’s idea. She has always wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps, to put on live shows that people would remember for ages.” A strong breeze blows past the two of them, causing some of Tsugumi’s hair to blow in front of her face. As she’s adjusting it, her eyes glimpse Sayo, and how the guitarist is now gazing off into the distance, seemingly lost in her memories. 

“I was actually in a different band originally, but it was going horribly. My personality was clashing with the other members, causing a wall between us. They’d hang out on their own, plan things on their own and I quickly realised that I was only in there because they hadn’t found anyone else to replace me.” Sayo’s eyes had a look of sadness that made Tsugumi think that this might not have been the first time that something like this had happened to her.

“That sounds horrible to go through.” Tsugumi thinks the words out loud, muttering them under her breath, loud enough so that Sayo is able to pick them up.

“Thank you, Hazawa-san.” Sayo looks back, their gazes meeting again, causing the feeling Tsugumi had just pushed from her mind to return.  _ Why am I wanting to kiss her so much? She has a soulmate. _ She forces herself to break the eye contact and to focus on the floor.

“Minato-san had apparently heard some of my previous performances and thought that I was good enough for her standards. So, when she overheard the other girls in my band saying stuff about me behind my back, she approached me and asked if I wanted to form a band with her.” Sayo lets out a small sigh before she continues. “Imai-san, who’s been Minato-san’s best friend since childhood, joined as a temporary bassist; she wasn’t sure if she wanted to actually commit properly to being in a band, but wanted to help out until we found someone who could fill in for her.”

Hearing Lisa’s name feels like a punch to the chest for Tsugumi, and she forces herself to not show any outward signs.  _ I need to stop focussing so much on Sayo. I need to find my soulmate, not focussing on hers. _

“We started hosting interviews, taking applicants for our other members. This is how we found Udagawa-san, our drummer. We found her style fit perfectly with how the three of us were performing and it was also her that suggested our name of Roselia.” Sayo pauses, causing Tsugumi to look over at her and see the girl rolling up the sleeve of her arm. “At the time, a lot of our band members were getting their tattoos. For some reason, roses seemed to be a common theme, so she came up with a name based on that. That, combined with how well Imai-san fit in and with how much she was improving, made us decide on having her as our permanent bassist.”

“I know Ako-chan, Tomoe-chan is her sister.” Tsugumi watches the realisation dawn on Sayo’s face as she puts the pieces together. 

“Oh, I didn’t think it was the same Tomoe.” Her gaze starts to drift away. “Sisters do seem to take after each other, don’t they?” Something about the way the words leave Sayo’s lips tells Tsugumi that the words weren’t specifically directed at her. 

_ Does she have a sister then?  _ Tsugumi watches the lost expression of the other girl, how lost she seems in her thoughts.  _ I don’t think I should press her any further on this topic… it looks like a sensitive one for her.  _ “I- I’m sorry… I interrupted your story.”

“Oh… no… I should be the one apologising.” She blinks a few times, turning back to face Tsugumi once more. “Where was I?”

“Um… you were talking about how…” Tsugumi tries to remember exactly what it was that Sayo had been talking about a few seconds ago, trying to look past how the guitarist had looked so sad. “I think it was… Ako-chan and Imai-san had just joined the band.” She has to force Lisa’s name past her lips, the feeling of a hand tightening around her heart returning as the words seem to hang in the air.

“That sounds right.” Sayo pauses for a moment, her mind seemingly trying to figure out what comes next. “So now we had a band of four, and we were all happy with the music we were producing, all except Minato-san that is. She kept feeling like something wasn’t quite right. We tried to ask her what it was specifically, but she’d always just stare off into the distance and say that we must just not be trying hard enough.”

“After a week of the same cycle, she arrived into practice one day and announced that we were going to be doing a live show in a couple weeks time.” Tsugumi opens her mouth in surprise as she hears this, but before she can say anything, Sayo continues. “The three of us were very surprised at the time, but we trusted Yukina and so we decided to just put our everything into the practice sessions.”

“It soon became apparent that practice wasn’t our problem, though. Minato-san still had that same feeling that something was missing, and we were starting to feel it too. By the end of the first week of preparing for the show, we started having talks about cancelling it and trying to figure out what to do from there.” Sayo looks distant once more as she continues to tell her story. While she doesn’t outwardly show signs of sadness, there’s a glint in her eyes that Tsugumi sees through, allowing to see a sorrow in those green irises that most would never have been able to pick up.

“On the morning before the live show, we all met at the studio. It was too late to cancel the show now, but we all expected it to flop. However, Udagawa-san still hadn’t shown up. When she did, she had a surprise for us. She arrived hand in hand with another girl, their matching petals of black lilies and hawthorn flowers indicating that they were soulmates.” Tsugumi thinks back to watching the live and to how the keyboardist of Roselia had the same floral pattern on her arm, matching Ako’s.  _ Ah, I don’t think I paid that much attention at the time.  _ “She seemed very nervous at first, but she announced that Udagawa-san often played our music to her when they were together and then one time, she tried playing along. The two of them had noticed that her keyboard playing matched our music beautifully and they wanted to try her out in the rehearsals.”

“Minato-san was a little hesitant at first, because of the girl’s timidness, but she understood that this was our last chance at making this performance work. When we set up on stage, and the music started, two things became clear. Shirokane-san was a completely different person on stage, and she was also the thing we’d been missing all this time.” Sayo closes her eyes as she finishes talking, and Tsugumi finds herself doing the same. She thinks back to watching Roselia perform, how it had just swept her off her feet, how their music had resonated around the room.  _ They’ve been through a lot together, and it really shows.  _

“All that must have been stressful to go through. But the way you perform as a group, the energy you put into your music, the harmonies you’re able to create; it really shows everything you’ve all gone through and how much you’ve worked to get where you are now.” She reopens her eyes to find Sayo looking at her intently, a shadow of a crease on her forehead. “Your performance the other day moved me. It was like a river of music, carrying me on a journey... I hope you’re proud of what you’ve done, what you’ve been through, what you still can do.”

“Thank you, Hazawa-san… that means a lot.” Sayo’s words are fairly quiet as the two of them continue to gaze into each other’s eyes as if it’s the gateway to the other’s thoughts. 

“I…” The word slips from Tsugumi’s lips before she even knows what she wants to follow it up with. The thought she’s tried to push from her mind previously resurfaces, consuming her other thoughts one by one.  _ I want to kiss her. _ She tries to shake the thought out of her head, but the draw of Sayo’s eyes, combined with just how strong her need to act on the words is, makes the task impossible.  _ Why can I not stop thinking about this? I can’t kiss her, I need to save it for my soulmate, and she needs to save it for Imai-san.  _

Lisa’s name finally allows the thought to finally retreat in her mind.  _ What is with me today? Why am I so drawn to her? Why do I hate Imai-san so much?  _ She tries to piece together the puzzle, to make sense of her feelings. There’s only one answer that appears though, the one that she’s been trying to avoid for days. 

_ I am in love with Sayo. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!! As I said in my beginning notes, I'm really invested in this story and I loved writing this chapter a lot. I wanted to change the backstories of the bands to fit this AU more, but I also wanted to leave them inspired by the original ones, I hope that came across.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought, if you think I can improve some way, or just whatever you want to say!
> 
> I can be found on twitter as @S4kuraLilly, in case you want to see small updates about different stuff!
> 
> Okay, that's all for today, thank you so much again and I hopefully will see you all again soon!!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a bad Tsugumi stan and didn't realise her birthday was today, however, I luckily had enough time and a couple of people willing to give their time to get this next chapter finished and beta read before the end of the day (Thank you so much Rin and Zander for that!!!).
> 
> That being said, I hope you enjoy it!

Shouts and screams of young children at play fill the afternoon air; the playground is host to a group of them, each chasing the other in some kind of tag game. Tsugumi watches from the steps, clutching her small bento box in her lap, but making no move to open it. Her eyes are slightly red and puffy, small dried rivers of water running down from them to her chin.

“Tsugu.” A cheerful voice breaks her from the daze she’d found herself in. She turns her head to see Himari running over to her, dragging someone by the hand behind her. “Why are you sitting here, I thought we were all going to eat together?”

The small brown-haired girl averts her face, trying to hide the state of it. “I… I w-will be there… soon.”

“Is everything okay, Tsugu?” Tomoe’s voice comes from the same direction as the pink-haired girl, revealing the identity of the other girl. “You look like you’ve been crying.”

“Y-Yeah… I’m okay.” Tsugumi tries harder to hide her face, closing her eyes as well.  _ I can’t burden you with my problems… leave me alone… please. _

She hears movement on the steps next to her, followed by a hand resting on her shoulder. “Hey, Tsugu, you don’t have to tell me whatever it is, but… can I have a hug at least?”

Tsugumi takes a deep breath. She slowly sits upright and turns towards her friends, opening her eyes as she does. The two girls are looking at her, their eyes filled with worry. She looks at Tomoe who is the one next to her, the girl’s body angled to face her. She waits for a few seconds, before leaning in and feeling the warm embrace of her friend.

As soon as she does, Tsugumi feels the tears start to run down her cheeks again. “There, there.” Tomoe pats her back as she says the words. _ I shouldn’t be doing this in front of her. _ She tries to close her eyes to stop the flow, but it only increases their pace. 

“It’s okay, Tsugu, we’re here for you.” This time, it’s Himari’s voice that attempts to calm her; something about the words, combined with Tomoe’s arms around her, makes the tears flow for a different reason.

“Th-Thank… you.” Tsugumi pulls away from the hug, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her school uniform, which has luckily dried from its previous use.

“Are you okay telling us what is wrong?” Tomoe asks, still keeping her arm on the brunette’s shoulder. 

“I-It’s something stupid… don’t worry.”

“If it’s something stupid, you wouldn’t be like this.” Himari places her hand on Tsugumi’s other shoulder. “We won’t judge, don’t worry.”

“I…” Tsugumi starts to dismiss them again, but she cuts herself off. “I am… jealous.” She feels her body freeze up.  _ I said it… they’re going to think I’m so selfish now… _ Despite her thoughts, she keeps talking though. “I… I feel like everyone’s getting their soulmate and I’m left here on my own.” Tears start to well up in her eyes, but she fights to keep them back.  _ I shouldn’t be crying in front of my friends, I can hold them in. _ “I wish I could find them… but I can’t…”

She sees the two other girls look at each other, before both hug her tightly. “What you’re feeling is completely understandable, Tsugu.” Tomoe pulls back slightly so that the two of them can see each other. “Both of us have, as well as Ran, and you start to see others in the class blossoming as well, it can be very tough to deal with, but remember, there is always someone out there for you, and you will meet them one day.”

“It also isn’t all it’s held up to be. We both still have no idea who our soulmate actually is, other than a list of possible other children at the school.” Himari is the one to talk this time, her hand squeezing Tsugumi’s shoulder.

The brown-haired girl smiles as she looks at her two friends.  _ How haven’t you two realised that you’re each other’s soulmate?  _ She doesn’t verbalise the thought, though; Moca had tried to tell them already and they’d both denied it. “I… I guess so…”

“Do you still want to have lunch here?” Himari asks, removing her hand and standing up.

“I… no, I’ll come back.” She pushes herself up from the stairs and to her feet. “Thank you, you two.”

“We’ll always be here for you Tsugu.” Tomoe’s the final one to stand up, moving over to stand next to the pink-haired girl as she does. “No matter what it is, we’ll be able to listen.”

“Th-Thank you…” Tsugumi bows her head in thanks as she says the words. “I hope you know that I’d be there for you too.”

“Thank you, as well.” 

The three of them slowly make their way around to the back of the school building, where Moca and Ran are sitting there, in their usual spot of the shady place under the trees. As they walk, Tsugu tries to make herself as presentable as possible, dabbing her eyes with her sleeve and trying to make the redness not quite as obvious. 

Either because she was able to hide it well, or because they were being respectful, neither of the other two girls mention Tsugumi’s disappearance at all, and act like this is another normal day. “Hey, Tsugu.” Moca’s slow voice chimes in.

“Hey, Moca-chan. How’s your day been so far?”

“The same as always…” Moca smiles as she glances over at the black-haired girl next to her, a grin plastered on her face. In response, Ran rolls her eyes and turns to face the new arrivals.

“Shall we start eating?” The black-haired girl asks; and is met with unanimous agreement.

As they eat their respective bentos, the five of them continue to talk about their days up to this point, what the teachers had made them do, their journeys to school, and whatever else they could think about. 

However, Tsugumi is silent for most of the conversation. In her mind, she is thinking about what Himari and Tomoe had talked to her about.  _ I think it’s a good idea if I try to ignore my tattoo for now. There’s no point worrying about something that I can’t control. _

“Come on, it’s a small dare,” Moca says, teasingly, the words catching the brown-haired girl’s attention. She looks around and sees Himari and Tomoe staring at Moca, eyes furrowed in a doubtful expression.

“But we’re not soulmates, so it’d be wrong,” Tomoe replies, retracting her hand to her lap from the ground next to her. 

“It’s a kiss, what’s the worst that can happen?” Moca teases the two of them. “If you’re truly not meant to be together, then I’ll drop it and move on.”

“B-But… why would we be soulmates?” Himari looks over at Tomoe, her eyes full of worry.

“I… think you should try it.” Tsugumi doesn’t even register herself saying the words, but as the rest of the girls turn to her, she immediately regrets saying it.

“Okay… let’s get this over with.” Tomoe looks from Tsugumi to Himari, letting out a small sigh as she does. “I don’t think we’re going to win.”

“Are you sure?” Himari says, followed with a whisper that only the red-haired girl can hear. As Tsugumi watches the room, she can’t help but feel a warmth spreading through her.  _ I hope they do it… I want them to be happy. _

The two girls turn to face Moca, taking a second to glance briefly at Tsugumi as they do. “Okay…” Tomoe sighs as she says this. “We’ll do it.” 

Silence descends over the group, as everyone waits for what is about to unfold. Ran, who has not been paying much attention to Moca’s teasing of the pair up until now, turns her head to watch what is about to happen, her fingers touching the purple orchids on her arm. 

Tomoe brings her hand up to cup Himari’s cheek, turning the girl’s head to allow their gazes to meet. Her mouth opens slightly, her thumb starts to brush against the pink skin, her breathing slows. Then, the pink-haired girl nods slightly and the two of them slowly lean in and press their lips together briefly.

The moment their lips touch, the two girls’ arms start to glow. Their tattoos start to outline themselves in a golden thread, the light red gladiolus flowers from Tomoe’s arm and the beautiful pinks of Himari’s chrysanthemums start to drift down their arms, their hands connecting, allowing a bridge for the two sides to meet. The glitter dances around their fingers. A mix of the three colours, gold, pink, and red. It drifts back up their arms, forming a new floral pattern with a mix of the two different flowers on both of their arms. A few seconds later, the golden dust fades, leaving behind the new tattoos, as well as five stunned friends.

_ That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. _ Tsugumi closes her eyes and pictures it again, watching how it sparkled in the sunlight, how magical the whole thing had been to not only witness, but how the very air itself had felt magical.  _ I think I’ve decided now… I need to focus on helping others find their own soulmates rather than my own. I want more people to experience that. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this! It was actually really interesting to write, I've never tried a flashback scene before and I think it did a decent job to split up such a big and important scene to the story. The next half of the scene that was started in chapter 3 will hopefully be uploaded soon, I plan for it to be my next thing to work on as I already have so much planned in my mind for how it will play out and I've been buzzing to write it so much.
> 
> If you want to find me, I am on twitter as @S4kuraLilly, so feel free to come and say "hi" or ask me anything that way, I'm always open to questions about stuff. I also try to reply to every comment I get here so if you have anything you want to say then please feel free to leave one.
> 
> Okay, I've rambled on enough, thank you again for reading!!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this took longer to edit than I'd hoped, the first draft was actually finished the day after I uploaded chapter 4... but, despite all that, it is finally done now and oh boy is it a big one. I've been waiting for this chapter for a while now so I really wanted it to be good, I hope you'll all like it.

Regret immediately fills Tsugumi’s mind.  _ How can I be in love with someone I’ve only recently met?  _ Yet, as she finally starts to think about it, she can’t help but admit it to be the truth.  _ I’m so stupid… How could I fall for her? _ Her answer comes easily.  _ She’s so perfect. _ She thinks back to their interactions up to now, how Sayo has always been welcoming, how she’s always remembered her, how things have always felt warm around the girl.  _ I love her… and I can never be with her. _ She feels her eyes close as she thinks this, the pain in her heart spreads across her chest.  _ She’s with Lisa… the two of them are soulmates… I don’t stand a chance. _

Droplets of water form in the corners of her eyes.  _ I can’t let her see me crying again. _ She leans back against the back of the bench, opening her eyes to look up at the sky. “Oh… the stars are starting to appear.”

Tsugumi doesn’t realise that she’s said the words out loud until she hears Sayo’s reply. “So they are.” The keyboardist flicks her eyes over towards the other girl to see her also laying back and staring up. “Do you like astronomy, Hazawa-san?”

“I love it.” She scans the skies, searching for more specks of light in the darkening canvas above them. “There’s something so calming about losing yourself in them, imagining what might be out there, floating in the vacuum of space.”

As Tsugumi finishes talking, she feels herself slipping into her imagination. Before she can get too lost in it, however, her hand slips from her lap to what she expects to be the cold bench beside her, but actually turns out to be something warm and soft. She doesn’t have time to process what it is exactly until it turns over and fingers start to intertwine with her own. She blinks a couple of times, trying to process exactly what is happening as she looks down at her hand, and how it’s now holding Sayo’s.

She immediately feels blood rushing to her cheeks. Her first instinct is to retract her hand, but then it hits her that it was Sayo who had moved to initiate the gesture.  _ She… wants to hold… my hand? _ She takes a few seconds to process the information.  _ I guess she wants to comfort me.  _ She lets her arm relax, freeing it from a tension that she hadn’t known was there. She finally lets herself embrace the warm sensation of the blue-haired girl’s palm against her own, feeling the soft fingers that are interlaced with hers, the tingling sensation sending a spark up her arm.

She feels her eyes being drawn to their hands, or, more specifically, their wrists.  _ We have our tattoos on different arms. _ The beautiful blue and purple roses on Sayo’s arm blend well with the sunflowers of her own one.  _ I wish she was my soulmate. _ Everything she was feeling for the girl next to her, the fast-paced heartbeat, the constant thinking about her, the wishing she could kiss her, would it all go away when she finally meets her actual soulmate?  _ I wonder if this is how she feels about Imai-san. _

Memories of news and stories about people ignoring who their soulmate is because they’ve found someone else they wanted to be with come flooding into Tsugumi’s mind.  _ They haven’t kissed yet… so… maybe…  _ She shakes her head.  _ What am I thinking? This whole soulmate thing is making me think selfishly. _

“My sister is also into it.” Sayo’s words catch the other girl off guard.  _ What were we talking about?  _ Tsugumi glances at the guitarist to see her gazing up at the sky above. Following the girl’s gaze, she finally remembers. “She came back home after school one day and said she wanted a star named after her.”

Tsugumi remembers how earlier the blue-haired girl had been so unsure about talking about her sister.  _ I guess she’s ready to tell me about her now. _ The corners of her lips begin to smile at the thought.  _ I’m glad she feels she can trust me. _

“She loves to search the skies in the hope that she’ll discover one for herself that she can name.” A slight smile appears on Sayo’s lips.

Tsugumi rubs her thumb against the back of Sayo’s, hoping it will help her talk more. In the sky above them, more stars have started to appear, the sun being no longer visible apart from a light glow on the horizon where it used to be. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see that the lamps have come on, illuminating the path that the bench they’re sitting on is located. The two girls themselves, however, are almost in complete darkness. “She sounds like an interesting girl.”

“She can be… but sometimes… she can be… frustrating.” The hint of a smile fades from her face as she sighs. “I am meant to be the older twin, to guide her through everything, to be there for her when she needs me, and to help her when she’s in trouble.” She pauses. These words are clearly hard for her to say and Tsugumi expects that it’s something she rarely ever vocalises. “But, everything I try to do, she follows me and overtakes me.”

“I took up playing the guitar as something I could do on my own, I tried to hide it from her initially, saying that the guitar in my room was for decoration. But, once I fell out with my old band, I was forced to practice at home, and she jumped on it as well.” There’s a slight bitterness to Sayo’s voice now.  _ It’s clear she cares about this topic a lot. _ Tsugumi thinks to herself as she tries to stay as quiet as possible, not wanting to distract the blue-haired girl from her story. “I remember her face being full of excitement the first time she heard me, and that was the moment that I knew I’d made a mistake.”

“She mastered it so easily, as she does with everything, and I ended up getting mad at her. I’ve never gone to watch her play with any band she’s been in, I couldn't bring myself to, but I have heard her practice.” Sayo’s hand tightens its grip on Tsugumi’s, not in a forceful way, but as if she doesn’t want to let go, or to break the contact. “That’s why Roselia means so much to me. We constantly strive to improve, it gives me the hope that one day I’ll be able to catch up to her in something.”

Tsugumi lets the words hang in the air for a few seconds, thinking back over everything that Sayo had told her.  _ She really is going through a lot at the moment. I should try to help her as much as I can. _ “I want to let you know, when I saw you perform, I was utterly captivated. Not only by the group as a whole; but by your playing specifically.” Her eyes drifted down from the sky to look over and, once more, she found the beautiful emeralds staring back at her. “I could tell how much it means to you, how much effort you are putting in, how passionate you are about your performances. You’re one of the most talented people I’ve ever seen.”

“Thank you, Hazawa-san.” Sayo’s voice has a calm and peaceful tone to it. “That means a lot to me.” There’s a light pink colouring to the girl’s cheeks. 

After a few seconds, Sayo ends up breaking their eye contact to stare back up at the sky. As she does, her body adjusts the way she is seated to face forward, her body shifting closer to Tsugumi on the bench. Their shoulders are almost touching now and Tsugumi can feel her hand brushing slightly against Sayo’s thigh. The beating of her heart increases so fast that she starts to worry that the blue-haired girl will be able to hear it.

“I can understand how you feel a little,” She starts, remembering her difficulties when Afterglow first got together and hoping that talking about it will distract her from the feeling. “I had to learn to play the keyboard when we decided to form our group. It seemed like a fun task initially, but I quickly fell behind the rest of them and I spent hours every night trying to catch up.”

She closes her eyes as she talks, letting her focus more on what she’s saying. “I would constantly hit wrong notes in practices or forget what to do next and, although they said it was okay, I felt like I was holding us back.” She pauses slightly, her thumb stopping its gentle rubbing against Sayo’s as the latter begins to softly slide her own thumb against Tsugumi’s own index finger. “I work at my family’s coffee shop at the weekends, or weekdays when I don’t have school, so I only had the evenings and nights to practice, which meant I ended up sacrificing sleep in order to catch up to them.”

“I didn’t get how they were able to put up with me being so bad and letting them down every single session.” She takes a deep breath before continuing. “Then things got even worse. We were finishing high school and I was in the student council, which also meant that I had to juggle practising keyboard, studying for my exams, working in the coffee shop, student council work, all while having to figure out a college to go to and what I want to do.” 

“I didn’t tell anyone what I was going through, and somehow managed to work out a schedule that allowed for everything. But it meant sacrificing most of my sleep, all of my free time, and I ended up not making it to a lot of band practices because of meetings or feeling too exhausted.”  _ I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone outside of Afterglow before, _ Tsugumi realises as she pauses. “I ended up passing out from overworking myself the day before my exams started. Everyone was so worried, I’d hidden a lot of what I was doing from them as I didn’t want to feel like a burden or someone they have to worry about, and I was rushed off to hospital. I ended up waking up a few hours later to the four of them clustered around my bed, looking at me worried. I felt like I had let them down, like I’d ruined everything, and like I’d have to quit.” 

“But, they weren’t upset. They were… there for me and they wanted me to be happy. It turned out that they had known that I was doing so much and that they wanted to help me in some way. They gave me a box and said not to open it until after the exam period.” Tsugumi begins to smile slightly. “I left it on my desk as motivation and made it through my tests. We had paused student council work and band practice during this period, so I had more time to sleep as well. When I finished everything, I nervously opened the box to find a sheet of music in there. It was a new song that they’d written for me, but one that highlighted my playing in a way none of our other songs had. On the back, it said  _ ‘You might think you need to improve, but we all think you’re ready.’ _ It was something so simple, but it made me cry so much.”

“When we finally got to play it together, I put everything into it because they’d all made it for me and it sounded amazing. I ended up crying again when we finished and they all ran up and hugged me.” Tsugumi’s eyes begin to water so she opens them, trying not to actually cry. “They always know exactly what is troubling me, and how to fix it. Tomoe-chan, especially, has a knack for it. A couple of days ago, these appeared…” She looks down at her arm, which she finally notices is ablaze with a buzzing sensation. “...and she took me aside and helped me realise that there is a plan I can take to figure out who my soulmate is… although I still don’t know exactly. Having people, no... friends that truly care about me; that is the reason why Afterglow means so much to me.”

She turns her head to see Sayo looking at her with a slightly strange expression, one that’s a mix of curiosity and something else that she can’t place. “You met your soulmate recently?” 

Something about the tone of Sayo’s voice makes Tsugumi pause. “Yeah… a few days ago now…” The tingling in her arm is starting to get worse as she looks at Sayo. “I’ve been trying to ignore it most of the time because I interacted with so many people that day. It could have happened at work, or after, on my way to the studio when I first met you.”

“I… am in a similar position.” She lifts her hand up, pulling Tsugumi’s with it so their arms catch the dim light of a nearby lamp, illuminating their arms in a slight glow. “I… mine also appeared that day…”

“They… did…” Tsugumi’s eyes widen.  _ Imai-san… isn’t her… soulmate. But… they’ve known each other for ages. That means… they’re not…  _ She closes her eyes and she can feel a feeling of nervousness building up inside her.  _...soulmates. _

“Um… Hazawa-san…” Sayo’s voice is slightly shaky. “D-Did you see your flowers before our meeting at all?”

“N-No…” Tsugumi’s eyes open to see Sayo looking at her intently, her cheeks have a slight pink tint to them and her free hand is fiddling nervously with the hem of her top.  _ Is… she implying… what I think she is?  _ “Did… you?”

She shakes her head in response. Her breathing is slow and methodical. “Do you think there’s a chance… that we might be…”

Tsugumi can’t believe what she’s hearing.  _ What do I say in response to this? I haven’t even considered this as a possibility before.  _ She feels her heart racing in her chest.  _ Then… everything I’ve been feeling recently, has it all… could it have all… meant… this? _ “D-Do you want to… find out?”

“I think… there might be a chance…” Sayo nods her head, not breaking their eye contact. “I wouldn’t have been able to tell most people what I’ve told you tonight, and something about being with you just seems to ease any worries I have.”

_ This… is really happening.  _ Tsugumi shifts her position slightly, turning to face Sayo slightly as the guitarist does the same.  _ So… how does this work? _ She tries to remember kisses she’s seen in manga before, but her mind is too much of a blur for her to focus on anything in particular.

“Are you ready to do this, Ha-” Sayo cuts herself off mid-sentence, shaking her head slightly. “No… Tsugumi-san.”

Tsugumi’s heart leaps in her chest. She nods her head as she feels butterflies fluttering in her stomach.  _ Her saying my first name makes this feel… real. _ She sees Sayo’s eyes close and she does the same. She feels the girl’s fingers tighten around her own, followed by the blue-haired girl’s other hand resting on her shoulder.

It feels like hours pass in the next few seconds. Sayo begins to lean in, something Tsugumi only realises by the sounds of rustling clothing and the feel of the girl’s hands shifting slightly. The next thing that she notices is the warm smell that can only be described as smelling like ‘Sayo’. She finds herself slightly parting her lips in anticipation of what’s to follow. She then starts to hear the guitarist’s slow breathing and each exhale causes a warm sensation to brush against her lips. She tries to prepare herself as best as she can for what is about to come, however, her mind is a tornado of emotions and she’s only able to think one thought.  _ Please…  _

Even if she was able to prepare herself to the best of her abilities, nothing would have been enough for what Tsugumi feels as Sayo’s lips press against her own. It feels like an explosion has gone off inside her, sending sparks of electricity coursing through her body. The nervousness inside her is immediately dispersed into a feeling of excitement and something else… something weird… something... magical. It’s the same thing she’d felt in the air when Tomoe and Himari had kissed all those years ago. Sayo’s hand slides from her shoulder to her cheek, sending another small spark running through her. The cold night air had dried their lips slightly, however, Sayo’s still felt perfect against her own. She feels her own free hand rest itself on Sayo’s lap, allowing her to lean into the kiss more. 

It is, by a long way, the best feelings she’s ever experienced. Her arm begins to buzz, filling with the magical energy that she’s been feeling since the kiss. Their lips pull back from each other and both girls turn to look at their connected hands. 

As she’d seen when she was younger, their flowers are being outlined in a golden thread, one that illuminates their surroundings, basking the two of them in its light. Tsugumi’s eyes glance up at Sayo, her soulmate, and she’s met with the most beautiful person she’s ever seen. The yellow hue cast on her makes her eyes glisten, her skin looks heavenly and her face even more beautiful.  _ I love her so much. _

She can’t keep her eyes off of their arms for long though. When she looks back, the colours are starting to drift towards their palms, before dancing around their interlaced fingers like thousands of tiny fairies all holding hands while gliding through woodlands. She knew it would be amazing when she saw it from afar, but is completely different to experience it first hand. It feels like the dust is not only around their arms but interlaced throughout their whole bodies. They aren’t two separate people anymore, they’re one connected couple. 

The glitter drifts back up their arms, a mix of gold, yellow, blue, and purple. The two of them are unable to take their eyes off of it, watching it, feeling it drift up their arms before it starts to settle. Their arms continue to glow slightly, even after the thread disperses, allowing them to see their new tattoos, both having a mix of the sunflowers from Tsugumi’s arm and the blue and purple roses from Sayo’s.

Tsugumi realises she’s had a smile on her face as she watches the light from their arms fade.  _ I have a soulmate… and it’s Sayo.  _ The two of them turn back to face each other.

“That was… amazing,” Tsugumi says, letting their newly tattooed arms fall between them.

“It was.” Sayo’s thumb on her cheek rubs softly against her skin. “I wasn’t expecting it to feel, or look, anything like that.”

“I had seen it before when Tomoe-chan and Himari-chan first kissed, but I could never have expected it would feel as good as that did.” Tsugumi still can’t quite believe what has actually happened this evening. Her mind is going over everything and she wishes she had a hand free to pinch herself. “So um… what does this make us now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… um… do you want to hang out at all… outside of the times we bump into each other?” She can feel a mix of nervousness and excitement building up inside her.

“I would love that.” She slips her hand from Tsugumi’s cheek and reaches into her bag, which is laying next to the bench. “Do you want my phone number?”

“Yes!” She says the words slightly too loudly and feels herself blushing almost instantly. She pulls out her own phone and they exchange numbers. She feels her phone vibrate to see a message from Sayo showing a sticker of a cute dog waving with the word “hi” next to it. She sends a sticker of a cat hugging a heart in reply as her blush grows.

Without needing to ask, their hands join back together, fingers returning to an interlaced pattern. “Does this make us… girlfriends now?” Sayo asks, her voice a little shaky.

Tsugumi feels her heart jump up as she hears this.  _ Did she… _ “I would certainly love that.”

“I think I would too.” The two of them turn back to face each other and Tsugumi leans forward, pressing their lips together for the second time. The kiss only lasts a few seconds, before Sayo’s phone starts to ring in her hand. Tsugumi immediately pulls away. 

Judging by the one side of the conversation that she can hear, she can’t tell who Sayo is talking to, but, it is pretty evident that she needs to leave. So, when the blue-haired girl turns to her and says, “Sorry, that was my sister. My family’s about to eat and they’re wondering where I am.” Tsugumi is ready to say goodbye.

What she is not ready for, is for Sayo to lean in and kiss her again. She closes her eyes as soon as she realises what’s going on though, and lets herself become absorbed in the kiss. The same sparks from their first one are still there, causing her to feel a rush of excitement at the contact.  _ I could get used to this. _

When Sayo pulls away, she stands up. “I’ll message you later to let you know when I’m free… we can go and do whatever you’d like.”

“I’ll be waiting then,” Tsugumi says. There’s a warm and bubbly feeling inside of her that makes her feel giddy.  _ Is this what it feels like to be in love?  _ That thought circles in her mind over and over as she said goodbye to Sayo, watching her disappear down the path into the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!! As I mentioned at the start, I have been wanting to get to this point for a while now and it's been in the back of my mind for ages.
> 
> I am going to take a step back from writing this story for a little while, as much as I love this story, I need time to really decide how I want to take it from here on out, there are some ways that it could end in 1 more chapter, and some that it could end in 10, I need to properly consider what I want to do with this world and this idea. I have a couple other plans for other work in the meantime, and I think I might work on a couple other Visual Novels in that time as well (if you haven't played my first one, you can here btw: https://twitter.com/S4kuraLilly/status/1200938924723646465).
> 
> That being said, I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you can be patient. I will try to write more when I'm inspired again for it.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed, it was so nice to finally be ably to write again, especially as I made sure to take my time and not rush it out. I've had this idea for a soulmate au story for a while now and SayoTsugu seemed like a great ship to pair it with.
> 
> Also, for anyone interested, the songs in the Roselia live were:  
> Oneness  
> Starmine  
> Kiseki  
> Neo Aspect
> 
> I tried to describe them as best as I could, but I'm not the best when it comes to music so I hope it worked.
> 
> If you have any feedback, or ways I can improve, please let me know in the comments! I always want to get better so I'm open to anything, positive or negative.
> 
> I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I hope it'll be soon.


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